PKL Auction Explainer: What are FBM cards and various categories

The auction ahead of Season 9 is set to take place across Friday and Saturday.

Only one sleep left for the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 auctions and it promises to be a blockbuster event with big names present in the pool. Expect records to be broken tomorrow. A total of 111 players have been retained across four categories: Elite Retained Players (ERP), Retained Young Players (RYP), New Young Retained Players (NYRP) and Nominated New Young Players (NYP).

The list of players that have been released includes stars such as Pawan Sehrawat (Bengaluru Bulls), Pardeep Narwal (UP Yoddha), Vikash Khandola (Haryana Steelers), Deepak Niwas Hooda (Jaipur Pink Panthers), Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Giants), Surjeet Singh (Tamil Thalaivas), Fazel Atrachali and Abhishek Singh (U Mumba), Sachin (Patna Pirates) and Mohammad Nabibakhsh (Bengal Warriors).

The different groups have been divided into four categories: A, B, C and D and sub-divided into all-rounders, defenders, and raiders in each category. The base price for Category A is INR 30 Lakhs, INR 20 Lakhs for Category B, INR 10 Lakhs for Category C, and INR 6 Lakhs for Category D.

Teams will have a total purse of 4.4 crores to build their squads. The FBM cards, which have been a constant feature of PKL auctions, return this year as well. Over 500 players will go under the hammer.

What is the FBM Card?

The Final Bid Match (FBM) card allows teams to match the final bid for a player being sold, if the player was released by that particular team into this auction. Each team can use up to three FBM cards throughout the PKL auction, as per the latest information.

In previous seasons, players like Deepak Niwas Hooda, Shrikant Jadhav, and Siddharth Desai have been retained through the usage of FBM. This season, teams will have to be decisive on whom they use the card for. Keep an eye out for the variables and dynamics which can surprise you when you least expect them.

Top Players in Each Category

Category A Raiders

Pawan Sehrawat and Pardeep Narwal, two cornerstones of Indian kabaddi will light up the auction and create some intense bidding battles. With a combined total PKL raid points of 2334 and a long-spanning legacy, keep your eyes peeled when their names come up.

Manjeet Dahiya impressed last year for the Thalaivas and V. Ajith Kumar had a breakout season with U Mumba. A total of seven raiders from last season’s top 13 will feature in the auction from this category.

Category A Defenders:

Fazel Atrachali, the most expensive PKL defender and Surjeet Singh lead the list of category A defenders with a base price of 30 Lakhs INR each. Sandeep Dhull and Parvesh Bhainwal also add to the quality defensive picks for franchises to consider.

Category A All-Rounders:

Look no further than the Iranian powerhouse Mohammad Nabibakhsh and kabaddi mainstay Deepak Hooda to raise eyebrows and paddles in this category. Veteran Sandeep Narwal showed that he is still a reliable presence and Rohit Gulia, who had an excellent 2019 season, will look to rediscover that form.

Category B: Raiders, Defenders, and All Rounders

Some big names find themselves in category B, which has a heady mix of youngsters that have just broken through and old warhorses still kicking about. Guman Singh, Shrikant Jadhav, Monu Goyat, Nitin Tomar, Siddharth Desai, Sunil Narwal, Girish Ernak, Sunil Kumar, Joginder Narwal, and Vishal Bhardwaj all feature in this list.

Category C

40 foreign players that including 11 from Iran, seven from Bangladesh, six from Kenya and Korea, five from Sri Lanka and two from Nepal and Malaysia will look to bring foreign influence to the Pro Kabaddi league and find themselves in Category C. The notable Indians include Surender Nada, C Arun, Mohit Chhillar, Amit Hooda, Ravinder Pahal.

Category D

The list includes players from the Khelo India School Games winners and runners-up. Those that impressed in the recently concluded Senior Nationals will aim to bag a contract with one of the teams.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.